[Kate*]

I think the older you get, the more you realize this. Like when you're 10 or 12, you have no idea what it's like to be 16 or 17, so you don't realize, at least not completely, how unrealistic the shows are. Once you get past the age being portrayed, you realize that real life is not like that.

It also doesn't help that the actors are so much older than they play. My guess is that it has to do with child labor laws. I know it happens often. Even decades ago. There's a big difference between a 30 year old playing a 17 year old and a 20 year old playing 17. The closer they are to the age of the character, the more authentically they can probably act.